-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueSignal Integrity
If you don’t have signal integrity problems now, you will eventually. This month, our expert contributors share a variety of SI techniques that can help designers avoid ground bounce, crosstalk, parasitic issues, and much more.
Proper Floor Planning
Floor planning decisions can make or break performance, manufacturability, and timelines. This month’s contributors weigh in with their best practices for proper floor planning and specific strategies to get it right.
Showing Some Constraint
A strong design constraint strategy carefully balances a wide range of electrical and manufacturing trade-offs. This month, we explore the key requirements, common challenges, and best practices behind building an effective constraint strategy.
- Articles
- Columns
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
Design for Cost in Real-time
April 24, 2023 | Paul Carpine, Siemens Digital Industries SoftwareEstimated reading time: 1 minute

When do you first start thinking about the selling price of your new product? It’s impossible to avoid the question of what the price will be. The worst answer is: “I don’t know, let’s see after the first samples.”
Let’s say the product’s selling price is $49; then the manufacturing cost will be $20. During each design change, the manufacturing cost should be recalculated to make sure the product is still competitive. This means you should involve people from both the development and cost calculation teams. This circle will be repeated until the final design is released, and the final calculation is done. Of course, if a small design change with “no impact for production” is not sent for evaluation, this is already a risk.
What if we had a software that was able to recalculate the price of the product in real-time during the design? What if we had something implemented into the design tool that was able to understand the change and recalculate the manufacturing price?
It is hard to find a product without a PCBA inside, and calculating the manufacturing cost for this component is not easy. It can be made in the beginning of the project based on several inputs, but what factors should you consider when you start the design? These same factors should be implemented inside this magic cost calculation software.
The cost calculation activity is irritating when your focus is hardware development and/or layout design. How do you evaluate whether a small change will increase a PCBA’s final cost? Here, I list the most important factors in the design that can impact the manufacturing cost.
The first way to keep the cost low is to use a surface mount device (SMD). Electronics manufacturing production is expensive, and each surface and machine should be utilized efficiently. Having only SMDs in your design means it is not necessary to use another line just for the through-hole devices (THDs). This will save time in production and will reduce the risk of quality issues. The SMDs are placed by the pick-and-place machine and soldered in the reflow oven, but for THDs, the process is very time consuming.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the April 2023 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
SPONSORED LINK
Testimonial
"The I-Connect007 team is outstanding—kind, responsive, and a true marketing partner. Their design team created fresh, eye-catching ads, and their editorial support polished our content to let our brand shine. Thank you all! "
Sweeney Ng - CEE PCBSuggested Items
Electrodeposited Copper Foils Market to Grow by $11.7 Billion Over 2025-2032
09/18/2025 | Globe NewswireThe global electrodeposited copper foils market is poised for dynamic growth, driven by the rising adoption in advanced electronics and renewable energy storage solutions.
iDEAL Semiconductor Announces Polar Semiconductor as Manufacturing Partner for SuperQ™ Power Devices
09/18/2025 | PRNewswireiDEAL Semiconductor confirms that its ultra-efficient SuperQ™ silicon power devices are now in production at Polar Semiconductor, a leading foundry specializing in high-voltage, power, and sensor technologies.
U.S. Manufacturing Jobs Decline Amid Tariffs and Immigration Crackdown
09/17/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamManufacturers in the U.S. are cutting jobs even as President Donald Trump pushes policies he says will revitalize the industry. Employers shed 12,000 manufacturing jobs in August, while payrolls in the sector have fallen by 42,000 since April, according to a new analysis from the Center for American Progress (CAP) based on government labor data.
Richardson Electronics Appoints Daniel Albers to Drive Made-in-USA Contract Manufacturing Expansion
09/17/2025 | Globe NewswireRichardson Electronics, Ltd., a global provider of engineered solutions for the green energy, power management, and custom display markets, announced the appointment of Daniel Albers to spearhead business development for its expanded, Made-in-USA contract manufacturing efforts.
GlobalFoundries Joins World Economic Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network for Manufacturing Excellence
09/17/2025 | GlobalFoundriesGlobalFoundries announced that the World Economic Forum (WEF) has designated its 300mm fab in Singapore as part of the Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) of advanced manufacturers.